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Cioffredi LA, Yerby LG, Burris HH, Cole KM, Engel SM, Murray TM, Slopen N, Volk HE, Acheson A. Assessing prenatal and early childhood social and environmental determinants of health in the HEALthy Brain and Child Development Study (HBCD). Dev Cogn Neurosci 2024; 69:101429. [PMID: 39208687 PMCID: PMC11399805 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2024.101429] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2024] [Revised: 07/29/2024] [Accepted: 08/02/2024] [Indexed: 09/04/2024] Open
Abstract
The HEALthy Brain and Child Development (HBCD) Study, a multi-site prospective longitudinal cohort study, will examine human brain, cognitive, behavioral, social, and emotional development beginning prenatally and planned through early childhood. The charge of the HBCD Social and Environmental Determinants (SED) working group is to develop and implement a battery of assessments to broadly characterize the social and physical environment during the prenatal period and early life to characterize risk and resilience exposures that can impact child growth and development. The SED battery consists largely of measures that will be repeated across the course of the HBCD Study with appropriate modifications for the age of the child and include participant demographics, indicators of socioeconomic status, stress and economic hardship, bias and discrimination (e.g., racism), acculturation, neighborhood safety, child and maternal exposures to adversity, environmental toxicants, social support, and other protective factors. Special considerations were paid to reducing participant burden, promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion, and adopting trauma-informed practices for the collection of sensitive information such as domestic violence exposure and adverse childhood experiences. Overall, the SED battery will provide essential data to advance understanding of child development and approaches to advance health equity across infant and child development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leigh-Anne Cioffredi
- University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine, Vermont Children's Hospital, USA.
| | - Lea G Yerby
- Department of Community Medicine and Population Health, The University of Alabama, USA.
| | - Heather H Burris
- Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Division of Neonatology, USA; University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, USA
| | - Katherine M Cole
- National Institutes of Health/National Institute on Drug Abuse, USA
| | - Stephanie M Engel
- Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA
| | - Traci M Murray
- National Institutes of Health/National Institute on Drug Abuse, USA
| | - Natalie Slopen
- Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, USA
| | - Heather E Volk
- Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, USA
| | - Ashley Acheson
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, USA.
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Tamman AJF, Abdallah CG, Dunsmoor JE, Cisler JM. Neural differentiation of emotional faces as a function of interpersonal violence among adolescent girls. J Psychiatr Res 2024; 172:90-101. [PMID: 38368703 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2024.02.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2023] [Revised: 01/29/2024] [Accepted: 02/02/2024] [Indexed: 02/20/2024]
Abstract
Interpersonal violence (IV) is associated with altered neural threat processing and risk for psychiatric disorder. Representational similarity analysis (RSA) is a multivariate approach examining the extent to which differences between stimuli correspond to differences in multivoxel activation patterns to these stimuli within each ROI. Using RSA, we examine overlap in neural patterns between threat and neutral faces in youth with IV. Participants were female adolescents aged 11-17 who had a history of IV exposure (n = 77) or no history of IV, psychiatric diagnoses, nor psychiatric medications (n = 37). Participants completed a facial emotion processing task during fMRI. Linear mixed models indicated that increasing hippocampal differentiation of fear and neutral faces was associated with increasing IV severity. Increased neural differentiation of these facial stimuli in the left and right hippocampus was associated with increasing physical abuse severity. Increased differentiation by the dACC correlated with increasing physical assault severity. RSA for most ROIs were not significantly associated with univariate activity, except for a positive association between amygdala RSA and activity to fear faces. Differences in statistically significant ROIs for physical assault and physical abuse may highlight distinct effects of trauma type on encoding of threat vs. neutral faces. Null associations between RSA and univariate activation in most ROIs suggest unique contributions of RSA for understanding IV compared to traditional activation. Implications include understanding mechanisms of risk in IV and trauma-specific treatment selection. Future work should replicate these findings in longitudinal studies and identify sensitive periods for neural alterations in RSA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda J F Tamman
- Baylor College of Medicine, Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
| | - Chadi G Abdallah
- Baylor College of Medicine, Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Houston, TX 77030, USA; Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA; Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA; US Department of Veterans Affairs, National Center for PTSD - Clinical Neurosciences Division, VA Connecticut, West Haven, CT 06516, USA; Core for Advanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging (CAMRI), Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Joseph E Dunsmoor
- Institute for Neuroscience, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA; Center for Learning and Memory, Department of Neuroscience, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Dell Medical School, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA
| | - Josh M Cisler
- Institute for Neuroscience, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Dell Medical School, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA; Institute for Early Life Adversity Research, The University of Texas at Austin, Dell Medical School, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Austin, TX 78712, USA
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Tomoda A, Nishitani S, Takiguchi S, Fujisawa TX, Sugiyama T, Teicher MH. The neurobiological effects of childhood maltreatment on brain structure, function, and attachment. Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 2024:10.1007/s00406-024-01779-y. [PMID: 38466395 DOI: 10.1007/s00406-024-01779-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2023] [Accepted: 02/16/2024] [Indexed: 03/13/2024]
Abstract
Childhood maltreatment is a risk factor for psychopathologies, and influences brain development at specific periods, particularly during early childhood and adolescence. This narrative review addresses phenotypic alterations in sensory systems associated with specific types of childhood maltreatment exposure, periods of vulnerability to the neurobiological effects of maltreatment, and the relationships between childhood maltreatment and brain structure, function, connectivity, and network architecture; psychopathology; and resilience. It also addresses neurobiological alterations associated with maternal communication and attachment disturbances, and uses laboratory-based measures during infancy and case-control studies to elucidate neurobiological alterations in reactive attachment disorders in children with maltreatment histories. Moreover, we review studies on the acute effects of oxytocin on reactive attachment disorder and maltreatment and methylation of oxytocin regulatory genes. Epigenetic changes may play a critical role in initiating or producing the atypical structural and functional brain alterations associated with childhood maltreatment. However, these changes could be reversed through psychological and pharmacological interventions, and by anticipating or preventing the emergence of brain alterations and subsequent psychopathological risks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Akemi Tomoda
- Research Center for Child Mental Development, University of Fukui, 23-3 Matsuoka-Shimoaizuki, Eiheiji-cho, Yoshida-gun, Fukui, 910-1193, Japan.
- Division of Developmental Higher Brain Functions, United Graduate School of Child Development, Osaka University, Kanazawa University, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Chiba University, and University of Fukui, Fukui, Japan.
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychological Medicine, University of Fukui Hospital, Fukui, Japan.
| | - Shota Nishitani
- Research Center for Child Mental Development, University of Fukui, 23-3 Matsuoka-Shimoaizuki, Eiheiji-cho, Yoshida-gun, Fukui, 910-1193, Japan
- Division of Developmental Higher Brain Functions, United Graduate School of Child Development, Osaka University, Kanazawa University, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Chiba University, and University of Fukui, Fukui, Japan
| | - Shinichiro Takiguchi
- Division of Developmental Higher Brain Functions, United Graduate School of Child Development, Osaka University, Kanazawa University, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Chiba University, and University of Fukui, Fukui, Japan
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychological Medicine, University of Fukui Hospital, Fukui, Japan
| | - Takashi X Fujisawa
- Research Center for Child Mental Development, University of Fukui, 23-3 Matsuoka-Shimoaizuki, Eiheiji-cho, Yoshida-gun, Fukui, 910-1193, Japan
- Division of Developmental Higher Brain Functions, United Graduate School of Child Development, Osaka University, Kanazawa University, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Chiba University, and University of Fukui, Fukui, Japan
| | - Toshiro Sugiyama
- Research Center for Child Mental Development, University of Fukui, 23-3 Matsuoka-Shimoaizuki, Eiheiji-cho, Yoshida-gun, Fukui, 910-1193, Japan
- Division of Developmental Higher Brain Functions, United Graduate School of Child Development, Osaka University, Kanazawa University, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Chiba University, and University of Fukui, Fukui, Japan
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychological Medicine, University of Fukui Hospital, Fukui, Japan
| | - Martin H Teicher
- Developmental Biopsychiatry Research Program, McLean Hospital, Belmont, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA
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Zhang W, Wang Z. The longitudinal relationship between childhood trauma and adolescents' externalizing problems: A moderated mediation model. CHILD ABUSE & NEGLECT 2024; 149:106646. [PMID: 38266582 DOI: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2024.106646] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2023] [Revised: 12/18/2023] [Accepted: 01/10/2024] [Indexed: 01/26/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Externalizing problems among adolescents are prevalent, which are associated with a range of maladaptive developmental outcomes. Existing studies investigated the influence of childhood trauma, and attentional control on and how sensory processing sensitivity (SPS) is related to adolescents' externalizing problems. However, it is unknown whether attentional control plays a mediating role in the relationships between childhood trauma and adolescents' externalizing problems, and whether SPS plays a moderating role in these relationships. The present study examined these issues with a six-month-interval longitudinal study design. METHODS A total of 1933 junior school students (Grade 7, Mage = 12.82, 47.7 % girls) from a large follow-up project in a city of eastern China participated in the study. After half a year (wave 2), the data of 1890 participants (Grade 8) were collected. The Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), Attentional Control Scale (ACS-C), Highly Sensitive Child Scale (HSCS), and the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL-YSR) were administered to the participants to assess their childhood trauma, attentional control, SPS, and externalizing problems in two waves. The immediate and longitudinal moderated mediation models were utilized to investigate the relationships among these factors. RESULTS Childhood trauma significantly and positively predicted adolescents' externalizing problems. Attentional control played an immediate and longitudinal mediating role in the relationship between childhood trauma and externalizing problems. SPS moderated the relationship between childhood trauma and adolescents' attentional control. Childhood trauma had a greater effect on the attentional control of adolescents with SPS levels. CONCLUSIONS This study suggests that childhood trauma might impair adolescents' attentional control and then increase their externalizing problems. The influence of childhood trauma on attentional control is more serious among adolescents with lower SPS levels. Therefore, decreasing and preventing childhood trauma and building a warm nurturing environment might be beneficial to improving adolescents' attentional control ability and then reduce their externalizing problems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wen Zhang
- School of Psychology, Shaanxi Normal University, Shaanxi Provincial Key Research Center of Child Mental and Behavioral Health, Xi'an, China
| | - Zhenhong Wang
- School of Psychology, Shaanxi Normal University, Shaanxi Provincial Key Research Center of Child Mental and Behavioral Health, Xi'an, China.
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Albertina EA, Barch DM, Karcher NR. Internalizing Symptoms and Adverse Childhood Experiences Associated With Functional Connectivity in a Middle Childhood Sample. BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY. COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE AND NEUROIMAGING 2024; 9:50-59. [PMID: 35483606 PMCID: PMC9596616 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2022.04.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2021] [Revised: 03/13/2022] [Accepted: 04/09/2022] [Indexed: 05/11/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Research has found overlapping associations in adults of resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) to both internalizing disorders (e.g., depression, anxiety) and a history of traumatic events. The present study aimed to extend this previous research to a younger sample by examining RSFC associations with both internalizing symptoms and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) in middle childhood. METHODS We used generalized linear mixed models to examine associations between a priori within- and between-network RSFC with child-reported internalizing symptoms and ACEs using the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development dataset (N = 10,168, mean age = 9.95 years, SD = 0.627). RESULTS We found that internalizing symptoms and ACEs were associated with both multiple overlapping and unique RSFC network patterns. Both ACEs and internalizing symptoms were associated with a reduced anticorrelation between the default mode network and the dorsal attention network. However, internalizing symptoms were uniquely associated with lower within-network default mode network connectivity, while ACEs were uniquely associated with both lower between-network connectivity of the auditory network and cingulo-opercular network, and higher within-network frontoparietal network connectivity. CONCLUSIONS The present study points to overlap in the RSFC associations with internalizing symptoms and ACEs, as well as important areas of specificity in RSFC associations. Many of the RSFC associations found have been previously implicated in attentional control functions, including modulation of attention to sensory stimuli. This may have critical importance in understanding internalizing symptoms and outcomes of ACEs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily A Albertina
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri.
| | - Deanna M Barch
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri
| | - Nicole R Karcher
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri
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Hawes DJ, Allen JL. A Developmental Psychopathology Perspective on Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs): Introduction to the Special Issue. Res Child Adolesc Psychopathol 2023; 51:1715-1723. [PMID: 37421507 PMCID: PMC10661772 DOI: 10.1007/s10802-023-01100-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 06/26/2023] [Indexed: 07/10/2023]
Abstract
Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), including child maltreatment and other adversities in the home context and beyond (e.g., witnessing domestic violence; parental mental illness; parental separation; living in a disadvantaged neighborhood) are prevalent in the population and often covary together. Research based on the construct of ACEs has transformed the field of adult mental health, yet child and adolescent mental health has often been overlooked in this work. This special issue of Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology focuses on the developmental science of ACEs and child psychopathology. The research presented here draws on the extensive evidence base that now exists regarding the co-occurrence of common childhood adversities, while informing the integration of theory and research on ACEs with that of developmental psychopathology at large. This Introduction provides an overview of ACEs and child mental health from a developmental psychopathology perspective, with an emphasis on key concepts and recent progress spanning the prenatal period through to adolescence and intergenerational pathways. Models of ACEs that emphasize the multi-dimensional nature of adversity and the importance of developmental timing to risk and protective pathways, have played a driving role in this progress. Methodological innovations in this work are highlighted, along with implications for prevention and intervention.
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Affiliation(s)
- David J Hawes
- School of Psychology, University of Sydney, Camperdown NSW, 2006, Australia.
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Rakesh D, Elzeiny R, Vijayakumar N, Whittle S. A longitudinal study of childhood maltreatment, subcortical development, and subcortico-cortical structural maturational coupling from early to late adolescence. Psychol Med 2023; 53:7525-7536. [PMID: 37203450 DOI: 10.1017/s0033291723001253] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Examining neurobiological mechanisms that may transmit the effects of childhood maltreatment on mental health in youth is crucial for understanding vulnerability to psychopathology. This study investigated associations between childhood maltreatment, adolescent structural brain development, and mental health trajectories into young-adulthood. METHODS Structural magnetic resonance imaging data was acquired from 144 youth at three time points (age 12, 16, and 18 years). Childhood maltreatment was reported to occur prior to the first scan. Linear mixed models were utilized to examine the association between total childhood maltreatment, neglect, abuse and (i) amygdala and hippocampal volume development, and (ii) maturational coupling between amygdala/hippocampus volume and the thickness of prefrontal regions. We also examined whether brain development mediated the association between maltreatment and depressive and anxiety symptoms trajectories from age 12 to 28. RESULTS Total maltreatment, and neglect, were associated with positive maturational coupling between the amygdala and caudal anterior cingulate cortex (cACC), whereby at higher and lower levels of amygdala growth, maltreatment was associated with lower and higher PFC thinning, respectively. Neglect was also associated with maturational coupling of the hippocampus with prefrontal regions. While positive amygdala-cACC maturational coupling was associated with greater increases in anxiety symptoms, it did not significantly mediate the association between maltreatment and anxiety symptom trajectories. CONCLUSION We found maltreatment to be associated with altered patterns of coupling between subcortical and prefrontal regions during adolescence, suggesting that maltreatment is associated with the development of socio-emotional neural circuitry. The implications of these findings for mental health require further investigation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Divyangana Rakesh
- Department of Psychiatry, Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre, The University of Melbourne and Melbourne Health, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Reham Elzeiny
- Department of Psychiatry, Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre, The University of Melbourne and Melbourne Health, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Nandita Vijayakumar
- Deakin University, Centre for Social and Early Emotional Development, School of Psychology, Faculty of Health, Geelong, Australia
| | - Sarah Whittle
- Department of Psychiatry, Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre, The University of Melbourne and Melbourne Health, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
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Hosseini-Kamkar N, Varvani Farahani M, Nikolic M, Stewart K, Goldsmith S, Soltaninejad M, Rajabli R, Lowe C, Nicholson AA, Morton JB, Leyton M. Adverse Life Experiences and Brain Function: A Meta-Analysis of Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Findings. JAMA Netw Open 2023; 6:e2340018. [PMID: 37910106 PMCID: PMC10620621 DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.40018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2023] [Accepted: 09/07/2023] [Indexed: 11/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Importance Adverse life experiences have been proposed to contribute to diverse mental health problems through an association with corticolimbic functioning. Despite compelling evidence from animal models, findings from studies in humans have been mixed; activation likelihood estimation (ALE) meta-analyses have failed to identify a consistent association of adverse events with brain function. Objective To investigate the association of adversity exposure with altered brain reactivity using multilevel kernel density analyses (MKDA), a meta-analytic approach considered more robust than ALE to small sample sizes and methodological differences between studies. Data Sources Searches were conducted using PsycInfo, Medline, EMBASE, and Web of Science from inception through May 4, 2022. The following search term combinations were used for each database: trauma, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), abuse, maltreatment, poverty, adversity, or stress; and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) or neuroimaging; and emotion, emotion regulation, memory, memory processing, inhibitory control, executive functioning, reward, or reward processing. Study Selection Task-based fMRI studies within 4 domains (emotion processing, memory processing, inhibitory control, and reward processing) that included a measure of adverse life experiences and whole-brain coordinate results reported in Talairach or Montreal Neurological Institute space were included. Conference abstracts, books, reviews, meta-analyses, opinions, animal studies, articles not in English, and studies with fewer than 5 participants were excluded. Data Extraction and Synthesis Using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses reporting guideline, 2 independent reviewers assessed abstracts and full-text articles for entry criteria. A third reviewer resolved conflicts and errors in data extraction. Data were pooled using a random-effects model and data analysis occurred from August to November 2022. Main Outcomes and Measures Peak activation x-axis (left-right), y-axis (posterior-anterior), and z-axis (inferior-superior) coordinates were extracted from all studies and submitted to MKDA meta-analyses. Results A total of 83 fMRI studies were included in the meta-analysis, yielding a combined sample of 5242 participants and 801 coordinates. Adversity exposure was associated with higher amygdala reactivity (familywise error rate corrected at P < .001; x-axis = 22; y-axis = -4; z-axis = -17) and lower prefrontal cortical reactivity (familywise error rate corrected at P < .001; x-axis = 10; y-axis = 60; z-axis = 10) across a range of task domains. These altered responses were only observed in studies that used adult participants and were clearest among those who had been exposed to severe threat and trauma. Conclusions and Relevance In this meta-analysis of fMRI studies of adversity exposure and brain function, prior adversity exposure was associated with altered adult brain reactivity to diverse challenges. These results might better identify how adversity diminishes the ability to cope with later stressors and produces enduring susceptibility to mental health problems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Niki Hosseini-Kamkar
- Now with: Atlas Institute for Veterans and Families, Royal Ottawa Hospital, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
- Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | | | - Maja Nikolic
- Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Kaycee Stewart
- Department of Psychology, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada
| | | | - Mahdie Soltaninejad
- McConnell Brain Imaging Centre, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Reza Rajabli
- McConnell Brain Imaging Centre, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Cassandra Lowe
- Department of Psychology, University of Exeter, Exeter, United Kingdom
| | - Andrew A Nicholson
- Now with: Atlas Institute for Veterans and Families, Royal Ottawa Hospital, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
- Department of Psychology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - J Bruce Morton
- Department of Psychology, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada
| | - Marco Leyton
- Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
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Harris JC, Liuzzi MT, Malames BA, Larson CL, Lisdahl KM. Differences in parent and youth perceived neighborhood threat on nucleus accumbens-frontoparietal network resting state connectivity and alcohol sipping in children enrolled in the ABCD study. Front Psychiatry 2023; 14:1237163. [PMID: 37928910 PMCID: PMC10622767 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1237163] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2023] [Accepted: 09/25/2023] [Indexed: 11/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Purpose Evidence has shown neighborhood threat (NT) as a social driver of emotional and brain development. Few studies have examined the relationship between NT and neural function. Altered functional connectivity in the nucleus accumbens (NAcc) with the frontoparietal network (FPN) has been implicated in the development of substance use, however, little is known about perceived NT-related brain function or downstream alcohol sipping during early adolescence. This study examined the longitudinal relationship between youth and combined youth/parent perceived NT, resting state functional connectivity (RSFC) of the NAcc-FPN, and alcohol sipping behavior during late childhood and preadolescence. Methods This study used data (N = 7,744) from baseline to 2-year follow-up (FU) of the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study (ABCD; Release 4.0). Relationships between youth and combined youth/parent perceive NT, alcohol sipping (baseline to two-year FU), and NAcc-FPN (left/right) connectivity, adjusting for demographics, family/peer history of alcohol use, parental monitoring and warmth, externalizing symptoms, and site, were examined in a mediation model via PROCESS in R. Results Greater youth-reported NT at baseline was significantly associated with lower RSFC between the right (but not left) NAcc-FPN holding covariates constant (R2 = 0.01, B = -0.0019 (unstandardized), F (12, 7,731) = 8.649, p = 0.0087) and increased odds of alcohol sipping at baseline up to the two-year FU (direct effect = 0.0731, 95% CI = 0.0196, 0.1267). RSFC between the right NAcc-FPN did not significantly predict alcohol sipping at the two-year FU (b = -0.0213, SE = 0.42349, p = 0.9599; 95% CI = -0.8086, 0.8512). No significant relationships were observed for combined youth/parent report predicting alcohol sipping or NAcc-FPN connectivity. Conclusion Findings suggest notable reporting differences in NT. Combined youth/parent report did not reveal significant findings; youth perceived NT was related to increased likelihood of alcohol sipping and lower neural connectivity between the right NAcc-FPN during late childhood and early adolescence. NT context - and source of reporting - may be crucial in examining links with downstream neuronal function and health behaviors. Future research should investigate reward processing and threat as the cohort ages into later adolescence.
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Knefel M, Karatzias T, Spinazzola J, Shevlin M, Ford JD. The relationship of posttraumatic stress disorder and developmental trauma disorder with childhood psychopathology: A network analysis. J Anxiety Disord 2023; 99:102766. [PMID: 37690357 DOI: 10.1016/j.janxdis.2023.102766] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2022] [Revised: 07/25/2023] [Accepted: 09/03/2023] [Indexed: 09/12/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Potentially traumatic experiences are a major risk factor for mental disorders in children and adolescents. Posttraumatic psychopathology includes trauma-specific disorders such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as well as other psychiatric disorders. Developmental Trauma Disorder (DTD) has been proposed as a developmentally sensitive diagnosis. We aimed to further illuminate the co-occurrence of psychiatric conditions with DTD and PTSD. METHOD In a convenience sample of families of 507 children and adolescents (mean age = 12.11 years old, SD = 2.92; 48.5% female), we assessed DTD, PTSD, and screened for psychiatric disorders. We estimated network models including DTD, PTSD and ten psychiatric conditions. RESULTS We found that DTD and PTSD share both common and differential comorbidity features on disorder-, domain-, and symptom-level. The differential comorbidity patterns of the DTD and PTSD domains placed DTD close to both externalizing and internalizing psychopathology while PTSD was primarily linked to internalizing conditions. CONCLUSIONS Our study provides evidence for the complex clinical presentation of posttraumatic psychopathology over and above PTSD in children. DTD and PTSD provide useful and distinct diagnostic categories for children who are also experiencing internalizing conditions, and DTD may be especially relevant for children who are experiencing externalizing psychopathology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthias Knefel
- Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria; Department of Internal Medicine, Landesklinikum Baden , Baden bei Wien, Austria.
| | - Thanos Karatzias
- School of Health & Social Care, Edinburgh Napier University, Edinburgh, UK; Rivers Centre for Traumatic Stress, NHS Lothian, Edinburgh, UK
| | | | - Mark Shevlin
- Ulster University, School of Psychology, Coleraine, UK
| | - Julian D Ford
- University of Connecticut School of Medicine, Farmington, CT, USA
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Uselman TW, Jacobs RE, Bearer EL. Reconfiguration of brain-wide neural activity after early life adversity. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.09.10.557058. [PMID: 38328213 PMCID: PMC10849645 DOI: 10.1101/2023.09.10.557058] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/09/2024]
Abstract
Early life adversity (ELA) predisposes individuals to both physical and mental disorders lifelong. How ELA affects brain function leading to this vulnerability is under intense investigation. Research has begun to shed light on ELA effects on localized brain regions within defined circuits. However, investigations into brain-wide neural activity that includes multiple localized regions, determines relationships of activity between regions and identifies shifts of activity in response to experiential conditions is necessary. Here, we performed longitudinal manganese-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MEMRI) to image the brain in normally reared or ELA-exposed adults. Images were captured in the freely moving home cage condition, and short- and long-term after naturalistic threat. Images were analyzed with new computational methods, including automated segmentation and fractional activation or difference volumes. We found that neural activity was increased after ELA compared to normal rearing in multiple brain regions, some of which are involved in defensive and/or reward circuitry. Widely distributed patterns of neural activity, "brain states", and their dynamics after threat were altered with ELA. Upon acute threat, ELA-mice retained heightened neural activity within many of these regions, and new hyperactive responses emerged in monoaminergic centers of the mid- and hindbrain. Nine days after acute threat, heightened neural activity remained within locus coeruleus and increased within posterior amygdala, ventral hippocampus, and dorso- and ventromedial hypothalamus, while reduced activity emerged within medial prefrontal cortical regions (prelimbic, infralimbic, anterior cingulate). These results reveal that functional imbalances arise between multiple brain-systems which are dependent upon context and cumulative experiences after ELA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Taylor W Uselman
- University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, NM 87131
| | - Russell E Jacobs
- Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute, Keck School of Medicine of University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033
- California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125
| | - Elaine L Bearer
- University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, NM 87131
- California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125
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12
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Puetz VB, Viding E, Maguire EA, Mechelli A, Armbruster-Genç D, Sharp M, Rankin G, Gerin MI, McCrory EJ. Functional brain plasticity following childhood maltreatment: A longitudinal fMRI investigation of autobiographical memory processing. Dev Psychopathol 2023; 35:1382-1389. [PMID: 34924093 DOI: 10.1017/s0954579421001292] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Altered autobiographical memory (ABM) processing characterizes some individuals with experiences of childhood maltreatment. This fMRI study of ABM processing evaluated potential developmental plasticity in neural functioning following maltreatment. Adolescents with (N = 19; MT group) and without (N = 18; Non-MT group) documented childhood maltreatment recalled specific ABMs in response to emotionally valenced cue words during fMRI at baseline (age 12.71 ± 1.48) and follow-up (14.88 ± 1.53 years). Psychological assessments were collected at both timepoints. Longitudinal analyses were carried out with BOLD signal changes during ABM recall and psychopathology to investigate change over time. In both groups there was relative stability of the ABM brain network, with some developmental maturational changes observed in cortical midline structures (ventromedial PFC (vmPFC), posterior cingulate cortex (pCC), and retrosplenial cortex (rSC). Significantly increased activation of the right rSC was observed only in the MT group, which was associated with improved psychological functioning. Baseline group differences in relation to hippocampal functioning, were not detected at follow-up. This study provides preliminary empirical evidence of functional developmental plasticity in children with documented maltreatment experience using fMRI. This suggests that altered patterns of brain function, associated with maltreatment experience, are not fixed and may reflect the potential to track a neural basis of resilience.
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Affiliation(s)
- V B Puetz
- Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, University College London, London, UK
- The Anna Freud Centre, London, UK
| | - E Viding
- Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, University College London, London, UK
| | - E A Maguire
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK
| | - A Mechelli
- Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - D Armbruster-Genç
- Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, University College London, London, UK
| | - M Sharp
- Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, University College London, London, UK
| | - G Rankin
- Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, University College London, London, UK
| | - M I Gerin
- Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, University College London, London, UK
| | - E J McCrory
- Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, University College London, London, UK
- The Anna Freud Centre, London, UK
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13
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Dark HE, Harnett NG, Goodman AM, Wheelock MD, Mrug S, Schuster MA, Elliott MN, Tortolero Emery S, Knight DC. Stress-induced Changes in Autonomic Reactivity Vary with Adolescent Violence Exposure and Resting-state Functional Connectivity. Neuroscience 2023; 522:81-97. [PMID: 37172687 PMCID: PMC10330471 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2023.05.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2022] [Revised: 04/13/2023] [Accepted: 05/04/2023] [Indexed: 05/15/2023]
Abstract
Exposure to violence during childhood can lead to functional changes in brain regions that are important for emotion expression and regulation, which may increase susceptibility to internalizing disorders in adulthood. Specifically, childhood violence exposure can disrupt the functional connectivity among brain regions that include the prefrontal cortex (PFC), hippocampus, and amygdala. Together, these regions are important for modulating autonomic responses to stress. However, it is unclear to what extent changes in brain connectivity relate to autonomic stress reactivity and how the relationship between brain connectivity and autonomic responses to stress varies with childhood violence exposure. Thus, the present study examined whether stress-induced changes in autonomic responses (e.g., heart rate, skin conductance level (SCL)) varied with amygdala-, hippocampus-, and ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC)-whole brain resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) as a function of violence exposure. Two hundred and ninety-seven participants completed two resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging scans prior to (pre-stress) and after (post-stress) a psychosocial stress task. Heart rate and SCL were recorded during each scan. Post-stress heart rate varied negatively with post-stress amygdala-inferior parietal lobule rsFC and positively with post-stress hippocampus-anterior cingulate cortex rsFC among those exposed to high, but not low, levels of violence. Results from the present study suggest that post-stress fronto-limbic and parieto-limbic rsFC modulates heart rate and may underlie differences in the stress response among those exposed to high levels of violence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heather E Dark
- Department of Psychology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA
| | - Nathaniel G Harnett
- Department of Psychology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA
| | - Adam M Goodman
- Department of Psychology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA
| | - Muriah D Wheelock
- Department of Psychology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA
| | - Sylvie Mrug
- Department of Psychology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA
| | - Mark A Schuster
- Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine, Pasadena, CA, USA
| | | | - Susan Tortolero Emery
- School of Public Health, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX, USA
| | - David C Knight
- Department of Psychology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA.
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14
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Ford JD. Why We Need a Developmentally Appropriate Trauma Diagnosis for Children: a 10-Year Update on Developmental Trauma Disorder. JOURNAL OF CHILD & ADOLESCENT TRAUMA 2023; 16:403-418. [PMID: 37234835 PMCID: PMC10205922 DOI: 10.1007/s40653-021-00415-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/13/2021] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
Developmental Trauma Disorder (DTD) was proposed almost two decades ago as a psychiatric diagnosis for children who have been traumatically victimized and whose attachment bonding with primary caregivers has been compromised. DTD was designed to complement and extend post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) by addressing forms of trauma-related biopsychosocial dysregulation not included in PTSD, many of which are attributed to other psychiatric disorders. In the past decade, evidence from clinician surveys and research field trial studies has provided evidence of DTD's validity and potential clinical utility. The growing evidence base for DTD is summarized and clinical rationales for the proposed DTD symptoms are described. DTD shows promise as a developmentally-attuned traumatic stress diagnosis for traumatized children.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julian D. Ford
- University of Connecticut School of Medicine, Farmington, USA
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15
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Loso H, Chaarani B, Dube SL, Albaugh MD, Cheaito A, Garavan H, Potter A. Gender diversity associated with patterns of brain activation seen in populations that experience childhood stress. Front Integr Neurosci 2023; 17:1084748. [PMID: 36969492 PMCID: PMC10033574 DOI: 10.3389/fnint.2023.1084748] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2022] [Accepted: 02/06/2023] [Indexed: 03/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction Stressful childhood experiences are associated with unique brain activity patterns during emotional processing. Specifically, pediatric stress is linked to activation in the insulae, superior temporal and parahippocampal gyri, and the amygdalae, as well as differential activation in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex when viewing emotional faces. Gender diversity is broadly associated with higher victimization and mental health disparities in children aged 9/10, but whether it is associated with stress-like alterations in brain function (BOLD signal during task-based fMRI) remains unknown. We investigate the functional brain correlates of this relationship to determine if gender-diverse youth show patterns of functional activity during an emotional task consistent with those of other populations that experience heightened stress. Methods We used data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD)® study. First, we identified a subset of 4,385 participants aged 10/11 years with gender diversity data and quality-controlled fMRI data from the EN-Back (emotional n-back) task. The EN-Back is a working memory task that presents emotion faces as well as pictures of places as control stimuli. We regressed BOLD signal associated with emotion faces (faces minus places contrast) on gender diversity. Next, we tested if parental acceptance or youth perceptions of their school environment moderated the relationship between gender diversity and activation in the insulae or fusiform gyrus. Finally, we used structural equation modeling to investigate gender diversity's association with parental acceptance, perceptions of school environments, internalizing and externalizing problems. Results Gender diversity was associated with widespread increases in BOLD signal during the faces condition of the EN-Back task. Youth's report of parental acceptance and school environment did not moderate the relationship between gender diversity and BOLD signal in the insula or fusiform gyrus. Gender diversity was related to greater parent and school-related stress, which was associated with elevated mental health problems. Conclusion Patterns of functional activity were consistent with those reported in prior literature on childhood stress. Gender diversity was associated with increased emotional and behavioral problems, as well as parent and school-related stress. These findings indicate the importance of the home and school environments for supporting the wellbeing of gender diverse youth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hannah Loso
- Department of Psychological Science, The University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, United States
- Department of Psychiatry, The University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, United States
| | - Bader Chaarani
- Department of Psychological Science, The University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, United States
| | - Sarahjane Locke Dube
- Department of Psychological Science, The University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, United States
| | - Matthew D. Albaugh
- Department of Psychological Science, The University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, United States
- Department of Psychiatry, The University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, United States
| | - Aya Cheaito
- Department of Psychological Science, The University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, United States
- Department of Psychiatry, The University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, United States
| | - Hugh Garavan
- Department of Psychological Science, The University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, United States
- Department of Psychiatry, The University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, United States
| | - Alexandra Potter
- Department of Psychological Science, The University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, United States
- Department of Psychiatry, The University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, United States
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16
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Shymanskaya A, Kohn N, Habel U, Wagels L. Brain network changes in adult victims of violence. Front Psychiatry 2023; 14:1040861. [PMID: 36816407 PMCID: PMC9931748 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1040861] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2022] [Accepted: 01/16/2023] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction Stressful experiences such as violence can affect mental health severely. The effects are associated with changes in structural and functional brain networks. The current study aimed to investigate brain network changes in four large-scale brain networks, the default mode network, the salience network, the fronto-parietal network, and the dorsal attention network in self-identified victims of violence and controls who did not identify themselves as victims. Materials and methods The control group (n = 32) was matched to the victim group (n = 32) by age, gender, and primary psychiatric disorder. Sparse inverse covariance maps were derived from functional resting-state measurements and from T1 weighted structural data for both groups. Results Our data underlined that mostly the salience network was affected in the sample of self-identified victims. In self-identified victims with a current psychiatric diagnosis, the dorsal attention network was mostly affected underlining the potential role of psychopathological alterations on attention-related processes. Conclusion The results showed that individuals who identify themselves as victim demonstrated significant differences in all considered networks, both within- and between-network.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aliaksandra Shymanskaya
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Psychosomatics, Faculty of Medicine, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
- JARA-BRAIN Institute Brain Structure and Function, INM-10, Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine, Jülich Research Centre, Jülich, Germany
| | - Nils Kohn
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behavior, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmengen, Netherlands
| | - Ute Habel
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Psychosomatics, Faculty of Medicine, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
- JARA-BRAIN Institute Brain Structure and Function, INM-10, Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine, Jülich Research Centre, Jülich, Germany
| | - Lisa Wagels
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Psychosomatics, Faculty of Medicine, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
- JARA-BRAIN Institute Brain Structure and Function, INM-10, Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine, Jülich Research Centre, Jülich, Germany
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17
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Wade M, McLaughlin KA, Buzzell GA, Fox NA, Zeanah CH, Nelson CA. Family-based care buffers the stress sensitizing effect of early deprivation on executive functioning difficulties in adolescence. Child Dev 2023; 94:e43-e56. [PMID: 36254858 PMCID: PMC9828738 DOI: 10.1111/cdev.13863] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
We examined whether family care following early-life deprivation buffered the association between stressful life events (SLEs) and executive functioning (EF) in adolescence. In early childhood, 136 institutionally reared children were randomly assigned to foster care or care-as-usual; 72 never-institutionalized children served as a comparison group. At age 16 years, adolescents (n = 143; 54% female; 67.1% Romanian) self-reported recent SLEs, completed a battery of memory and EF tasks, and completed a go/nogo task in which mediofrontal theta power (MFTP) was measured using electroencephalogram. More independent SLEs predicted lower EF and more dependent SLEs predicted lower MFTP, but only among adolescents with prolonged early deprivation. Findings provide preliminary evidence that family care following early deprivation may facilitate resilience against stress during adolescence on EF.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark Wade
- Department of Applied Psychology and Human Development, University of Toronto
| | | | | | - Nathan A. Fox
- Department of Human Development and Quantitative Methodology, University of Maryland, College Park
| | - Charles H. Zeanah
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Tulane University School of Medicine
| | - Charles A. Nelson
- Boston Children’s Hospital of Harvard Medical School
- Harvard Graduate School of Education
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18
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Mattheiss SR, Levinson H, Rosenberg-Lee M, Graves WW. Exposure to violence is associated with decreased neural connectivity in emotion regulation and cognitive control, but not working memory, networks after accounting for socioeconomic status: a preliminary study. BEHAVIORAL AND BRAIN FUNCTIONS : BBF 2022; 18:15. [PMID: 36503615 PMCID: PMC9743673 DOI: 10.1186/s12993-022-00201-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2022] [Accepted: 09/18/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Previous research has demonstrated behavioral and neural differences associated with experiencing adversity. However, adversity is unlikely to be a monolithic construct, and we expect that examining effects of more specific components such as exposure to violence in the home community will yield more concretely interpretable results. Here we account for effects of low socioeconomic status (SES) to examine the specific effects of exposure to violence on functional connectivity between brain areas known to be related to emotion regulation and working memory. Decreased resting state functional connectivity for individuals exposed to high compared to low levels of violence during childhood was predicted for two sets of areas: (1) bilateral amygdala with anterior medial regions involved in cognitive control of emotion, and (2) the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) with frontal and parietal regions implicated in working memory. Consistent with our predictions, increasing exposure to violence was related to decreased resting state functional connectivity between the right amygdala and anterior cingulate cortex, even after accounting for SES. Also after accounting for SES, exposure to violence was related to reductions in connectivity between the right dlPFC and frontal regions, but not with parietal regions typically associated with working memory. Overall, this pattern suggests increased exposure to violence in childhood is associated with reduced connectivity among key areas of the circuitry involved in emotion regulation and cognitive control, but not working memory. These results offer insight into the neural underpinnings of behavioral outcomes associated with exposure to violence, laying the foundation for ultimately designing interventions to address the effects of such exposure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samantha R. Mattheiss
- grid.454556.30000 0000 9565 5747Psychology Department, Felician University, Lodi, NJ USA
| | - Hillary Levinson
- grid.430387.b0000 0004 1936 8796Psychology Department, Rutgers University - Newark, Newark, NJ USA
| | - Miriam Rosenberg-Lee
- grid.430387.b0000 0004 1936 8796Psychology Department, Rutgers University - Newark, Newark, NJ USA
| | - William W. Graves
- grid.430387.b0000 0004 1936 8796Psychology Department, Rutgers University - Newark, Newark, NJ USA
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19
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Can Developmental Trauma disorder be distinguished from posttraumatic stress disorder? A confirmatory factor Analytic Test of Four Structural Models. Res Child Adolesc Psychopathol 2022; 50:1207-1218. [DOI: 10.1007/s10802-022-00916-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/02/2022] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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20
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Weissman DG, Rosen ML, Colich NL, Sambrook KA, Lengua LJ, Sheridan MA, McLaughlin KA. Exposure to Violence as an Environmental Pathway Linking Low Socioeconomic Status with Altered Neural Processing of Threat and Adolescent Psychopathology. J Cogn Neurosci 2022; 34:1892-1905. [PMID: 35104853 PMCID: PMC9329491 DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_01825] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
Low childhood socioeconomic status (SES) is associated with increased risk for psychopathology, in part because of heightened exposure to environmental adversity. Adverse experiences can be characterized along dimensions, including threat and deprivation, that contribute to psychopathology via distinct mechanisms. The current study investigated a neural mechanism through which threat and deprivation may contribute to socioeconomic disparities in psychopathology. Participants were 177 youths (83 girls) aged 10-13 years recruited from a cohort followed since the age of 3 years. SES was assessed using the income-to-needs ratio at the age of 3 years. At the age of 10-13 years, retrospective and current exposure to adverse experiences and symptoms of psychopathology were assessed. At this same time point, participants also completed a face processing task (passive viewing of fearful and neutral faces) during an fMRI scan. Lower childhood SES was associated with greater exposure to threat and deprivation experiences. Both threat and deprivation were associated with higher depression symptoms, whereas threat experiences were uniquely linked to posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms. Greater exposure to threat, but not deprivation, was associated with higher activation in dorsomedial pFC to fearful compared with neutral faces. The dorsomedial pFC is a hub of the default mode network thought to be involved in internally directed attention and cognition. Experiences of threat, but not deprivation, are associated with greater engagement of this region in response to threat cues. Threat-related adversity contributes to socioeconomic disparities in adolescent psychopathology through distinct mechanisms from deprivation.
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21
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Feng C, Huang W, Xu K, Stewart JL, Camilleri JA, Yang X, Wei P, Gu R, Luo W, Eickhoff SB. Neural substrates of motivational dysfunction across neuropsychiatric conditions: Evidence from meta-analysis and lesion network mapping. Clin Psychol Rev 2022; 96:102189. [PMID: 35908312 PMCID: PMC9720091 DOI: 10.1016/j.cpr.2022.102189] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2021] [Revised: 04/13/2022] [Accepted: 07/18/2022] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
Motivational dysfunction constitutes one of the fundamental dimensions of psychopathology cutting across traditional diagnostic boundaries. However, it is unclear whether there is a common neural circuit responsible for motivational dysfunction across neuropsychiatric conditions. To address this issue, the current study combined a meta-analysis on psychiatric neuroimaging studies of reward/loss anticipation and consumption (4308 foci, 438 contrasts, 129 publications) with a lesion network mapping approach (105 lesion cases). Our meta-analysis identified transdiagnostic hypoactivation in the ventral striatum (VS) for clinical/at-risk conditions compared to controls during the anticipation of both reward and loss. Moreover, the VS subserves a key node in a distributed brain network which encompasses heterogeneous lesion locations causing motivation-related symptoms. These findings do not only provide the first meta-analytic evidence of shared neural alternations linked to anticipatory motivation-related deficits, but also shed novel light on the role of VS dysfunction in motivational impairments in terms of both network integration and psychological functions. Particularly, the current findings suggest that motivational dysfunction across neuropsychiatric conditions is rooted in disruptions of a common brain network anchored in the VS, which contributes to motivational salience processing rather than encoding positive incentive values.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chunliang Feng
- Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences, Ministry of Education (South China Normal University), Guangzhou, China,Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, Center for Studies of Psychological Application, School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China,Corresponding authors at: Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, Center for Studies of Psychological Application, School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China; Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China. (C. Feng), (R. Gu)
| | - Wenhao Huang
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Learning and Cognition, and School of Psychology, Capital Normal University, Beijing, China,Department of Decision Neuroscience and Nutrition, German Institute of Human Nutrition (DIfE), Potsdam-Rehbrücke, Germany
| | - Kangli Xu
- The First Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China
| | | | - Julia A. Camilleri
- Institute of Systems Neuroscience, Medical Faculty, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany,Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine, Brain & Behaviour (INM-7), Research Centre Jülich, Jülich, Germany
| | - Xiaofeng Yang
- The First Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China
| | - Ping Wei
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Learning and Cognition, and School of Psychology, Capital Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Ruolei Gu
- Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China,Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China,Corresponding authors at: Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, Center for Studies of Psychological Application, School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China; Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China. (C. Feng), (R. Gu)
| | - Wenbo Luo
- Research Center of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian, China
| | - Simon B. Eickhoff
- Institute of Systems Neuroscience, Medical Faculty, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany,Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine, Brain & Behaviour (INM-7), Research Centre Jülich, Jülich, Germany
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22
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Luby JL, Rogers C, McLaughlin KA. Environmental Conditions to Promote Healthy Childhood Brain/Behavioral Development: Informing Early Preventive Interventions for Delivery in Routine Care. BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY GLOBAL OPEN SCIENCE 2022; 2:233-241. [PMID: 35855293 PMCID: PMC9291732 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsgos.2021.10.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2021] [Revised: 09/30/2021] [Accepted: 10/05/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Environmental experiences early in life have strong and enduring consequences for cognitive, emotional, and neurobiological development and related physical and mental health trajectories. The powerful influence of early caregiver nurturance and stimulation on promoting positive neurodevelopmental outcomes has been demonstrated across species. These findings elucidate the environmental conditions known to facilitate healthy neurodevelopment and underscore the potential for modifiable psychosocial factors in the environment to be harnessed to inform early preventive interventions to promote health and adaptive development. A framework for early preventive interventions to enhance nurturing and responsive caregiving for implementation during early sensitive periods of brain development delivered within existing health or educational infrastructures is proposed. Emotional development during sensitive periods is an important, under-recognized, and abundantly modifiable predictor of mental and physical health outcomes that warrants investment of resources and integration of interventions into public health infrastructure for children worldwide. Future studies are needed to further clarify whether and when sensitive periods are present for key developmental domains to inform the optimal timing and targets of these interventions. Numerous available empirically supported early interventions may be modified and applied in briefer and more feasible modalities of delivery to broader populations of developing children. As well established in growth and development across species, essential environmental inputs that are particularly important at specified developmental periods facilitate optimal growth trajectories. Such principles hold great potential in application to early child neurodevelopment to facilitate a thriving and resilient human population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joan L. Luby
- Department of Psychiatry (Child), Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri
| | - Cynthia Rogers
- Department of Psychiatry (Child), Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri
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23
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Wade M, Wright L, Finegold KE. The effects of early life adversity on children's mental health and cognitive functioning. Transl Psychiatry 2022; 12:244. [PMID: 35688817 PMCID: PMC9187770 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-022-02001-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2021] [Revised: 05/18/2022] [Accepted: 05/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Emerging evidence suggests that partially distinct mechanisms may underlie the association between different dimensions of early life adversity (ELA) and psychopathology in children and adolescents. While there is minimal evidence that different types of ELA are associated with specific psychopathology outcomes, there are partially unique cognitive and socioemotional consequences of specific dimensions of ELA that increase transdiagnostic risk of mental health problems across the internalizing and externalizing spectra. The current review provides an overview of recent findings examining the cognitive (e.g., language, executive function), socioemotional (e.g., attention bias, emotion regulation), and mental health correlates of ELA along the dimensions of threat/harshness, deprivation, and unpredictability. We underscore similarities and differences in the mechanisms connecting different dimensions of ELA to particular mental health outcomes, and identify gaps and future directions that may help to clarify inconsistencies in the literature. This review focuses on childhood and adolescence, periods of exquisite neurobiological change and sensitivity to the environment. The utility of dimensional models of ELA in better understanding the mechanistic pathways towards the expression of psychopathology is discussed, with the review supporting the value of such models in better understanding the developmental sequelae associated with ELA. Integration of dimensional models of ELA with existing models focused on psychiatric classification and biobehavioral mechanisms may advance our understanding of the etiology, phenomenology, and treatment of mental health difficulties in children and youth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark Wade
- Department of Applied Psychology and Human Development, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
| | - Liam Wright
- Department of Applied Psychology and Human Development, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Katherine E Finegold
- Department of Applied Psychology and Human Development, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
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Zilberstein K. Trauma in Context: an Integrative Treatment Model. JOURNAL OF CHILD & ADOLESCENT TRAUMA 2022; 15:487-500. [PMID: 35600523 PMCID: PMC9120280 DOI: 10.1007/s40653-021-00416-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/17/2021] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
Evidenced based trauma treatments benefit children, but they rarely suffice for youth with multiple and complex comorbidities. After the completion of standard treatments, many children continue to show residual social, behavioral, and emotional difficulties. Part of the difficulty is that while the literature on trauma describes numerous facets that contribute to the severity, expression, and outcomes of trauma exposure, clinical assessments and interventions do not sufficiently reflect that literature. Clinicians thus have little guidance on how to integrate the intricacies of client's circumstances into a trauma-informed framework. To expand the scope and efficacy of treatments and guide clinicians in selecting appropriate interventions, this paper explores factors associated with pretreatment traumatic responses and proposes an integrative treatment model that includes the trauma experience, itself, combined with pre- and post-trauma factors that are both internal and external to the child and family. Pre-trauma experiences influence the severity of traumatic responses, while post-trauma factors impact a person's ability to cope and recover. Both are important targets for direct intervention.
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Lurie LA, Hangen EJ, Rosen ML, Crosnoe R, McLaughlin KA. Reduced growth mindset as a mechanism linking childhood trauma with academic performance and internalizing psychopathology. CHILD ABUSE & NEGLECT 2022:105672. [PMID: 35610110 PMCID: PMC10028502 DOI: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2022.105672] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2021] [Revised: 04/11/2022] [Accepted: 05/12/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Despite the high prevalence of childhood adversity and well-documented associations with poor academic achievement and psychopathology, effective, scalable interventions remain largely unavailable. Existing interventions targeting growth mindset-the belief that personal characteristics are malleable-have been shown to improve academic achievement and symptoms of psychopathology in youth. OBJECTIVE The present study examines growth mindset as a potential modifiable mechanism underlying the associations of two dimensions of childhood adversity-threat and deprivation-with academic achievement and internalizing psychopathology. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING Participants were 408 youth aged 10-18 years drawn from one timepoint of two longitudinal studies of community-based samples recruited to have diverse experiences of childhood adversity. METHOD Experiences of threat and deprivation were assessed using a multi-informant, multi-method approach. Youth reported on growth mindset of intelligence and symptoms of anxiety and depression. Parents provided information about youths' academic performance. RESULTS Both threat and deprivation were independently associated with lower growth mindset, but when accounting for co-occurring adversities, only the association between threat and lower growth mindset remained significant. Lower growth mindset was associated with worse academic performance and greater symptoms of both anxiety and depression. Finally, there was a significant indirect effect of experiences of threat on both lower academic performance and greater symptoms of anxiety through lower growth mindset. CONCLUSIONS Findings suggest that growth mindset could be a promising target for efforts aimed at mitigating the impact of childhood adversity on academic achievement and psychopathology given the efficacy of existing brief, scalable growth mindset interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucy A Lurie
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, United States.
| | | | - Maya L Rosen
- Harvard University, United States; Smith College, United States
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Miller JG, Chahal R, Gotlib IH. Early Life Stress and Neurodevelopment in Adolescence: Implications for Risk and Adaptation. Curr Top Behav Neurosci 2022; 54:313-339. [PMID: 35290658 DOI: 10.1007/7854_2022_302] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
An alarming high proportion of youth experience at least one kind of stressor in childhood and/or adolescence. Exposure to early life stress is associated with increased risk for psychopathology, accelerated biological aging, and poor physical health; however, it is important to recognize that not all youth who experience such stress go on to develop difficulties. In fact, resilience, or positive adaptation in the face of adversity, is relatively common. Individual differences in vulnerability or resilience to the effects of early stress may be represented in the brain as specific patterns, profiles, or signatures of neural activation, structure, and connectivity (i.e., neurophenotypes). Whereas neurophenotypes of risk that reflect the deleterious effects of early stress on the developing brain are likely to exacerbate negative outcomes in youth, neurophenotypes of resilience may reduce the risk of experiencing these negative outcomes and instead promote positive functioning. In this chapter we describe our perspective concerning the neurobiological mechanisms and moderators of risk and resilience in adolescence following early life stress and integrate our own work into this framework. We present findings suggesting that exposure to stress in childhood and adolescence is associated with functional and structural alterations in neurobiological systems that are important for social-affective processing and for cognitive control. While some of these neurobiological alterations increase risk for psychopathology, they may also help to limit adolescents' sensitivity to subsequent negative experiences. We also discuss person-centered strategies that we believe can advance our understanding of risk and resilience to early stress in adolescents. Finally, we describe ways in which the field can broaden its focus to include a consideration of other types of environmental factors, such as environmental pollutants, in affecting both risk and resilience to stress-related health difficulties in youth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonas G Miller
- Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Rajpreet Chahal
- Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Ian H Gotlib
- Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
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Ford JD, Charak R, Karatzias T, Shevlin M, Spinazzola J. Can developmental trauma disorder be distinguished from posttraumatic stress disorder? A symptom-level person-centred empirical approach. Eur J Psychotraumatol 2022; 13:2133488. [PMID: 36340008 PMCID: PMC9635476 DOI: 10.1080/20008066.2022.2133488] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Developmental Trauma Disorder (DTD) is a proposed childhood psychiatric diagnosis for psychopathological and developmental sequela of victimization and attachment trauma extending beyond posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). OBJECTIVE To determine whether a sub-group of trauma-impacted children is characterized by symptoms of DTD that extend beyond, or co-occur with, the symptoms of PTSD. METHOD Person-centred Latent Class Analyses (LCA) were done with data from 507 children (ages 7-18 years, (M = 12.11, SD = 2/92); 49% female) referred to the study by mental health or paediatric clinicians. RESULTS A four class solution was optimal (LMR = 398.264, p < .001; Entropy = .93): (1) combined DTD + PTSD (n = 150); (2) predominant DTD (n = 156); (3) predominant PTSD (n = 54); (4) minimal symptoms (n = 147). Consistent with prior research, the DTD + PTSD class was most likely to have experienced traumatic emotional abuse and neglect (X2 (3) = 16.916 and 28.016, respectively, p < .001), and had the most psychiatric comorbidity (F(3, 502) = 3.204, p < .05). Predominant DTD class members were most likely to meet criteria for Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) (X2(3) = 84.66, p < .001). CONCLUSION Symptoms of DTD may occur with, or separately from, PTSD symptoms. Children with high DTD|+PTSD symptoms had extensive psychiatric comorbidity, while those with high DTD symptoms and minimal PTSD symptoms were highly likely to meet criteria for ODD. In clinical and research assessment and treatment of children with complex psychiatric comorbidity or disruptive behaviour problems, symptoms of DTD should be considered, both along with, and in the absence of, PTSD symptoms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julian D Ford
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Connecticut Health Center MC1410, Farmington, CT, USA
| | - Ruby Charak
- University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Edinburg, TX, USA
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28
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Delaney SW, Cortes Hidalgo AP, White T, Haneuse S, Ressler KJ, Tiemeier H, Kubzansky LD. Are all threats equal? Associations of childhood exposure to physical attack versus threatened violence with preadolescent brain structure. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2021; 52:101033. [PMID: 34798541 PMCID: PMC8605265 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2021.101033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2021] [Revised: 10/26/2021] [Accepted: 11/07/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Neurodevelopmental studies of childhood adversity often define threatening experiences as those involving harm or the threat of harm. Whether effects differ between experiences involving harm (“physical attack”) versus the threat of harm alone (“threatened violence”) remains underexplored. We hypothesized that while both types of experiences would be associated with smaller preadolescent global and corticolimbic brain volumes, associations with physical attack would be greater. Methods Generation R Study researchers (the Netherlands) acquired T1-weighted scans from 2905 preadolescent children, computed brain volumes using FreeSurfer, and asked mothers whether their children ever experienced physical attack (n = 202) or threatened violence (n = 335). Using standardized global (cortical, subcortical, white matter) and corticolimbic (amygdala, hippocampus, anterior cingulate cortex, orbitofrontal cortex) volumes, we fit confounder-adjusted models. Results Physical attack was associated with smaller global volumes (βcortical=−0.14; 95% CI: −0.26, −0.02); βwhite matter= −0.16; 95% CI: − 0.28, − 0.03) and possibly some corticolimbic volumes, e.g., βamygdala/ICV-adjusted= −0.10 (95% CI: −0.21, 0.01). We found no evidence of associations between threatened violence and smaller volumes in any outcome; instead, such estimates were small, highly uncertain, and positive in direction. Conclusions Experiences of physical attack and threatened violence may have quantitively different neurodevelopmental effects. Thus, differences between types of threatening experiences may be neurodevelopmentally salient.
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Affiliation(s)
- Scott W Delaney
- Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, United States; Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; Lee Kum Sheung Center for Health and Happiness, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, United States.
| | - Andrea P Cortes Hidalgo
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; The Generation R Study Group, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Tonya White
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Sebastien Haneuse
- Department of Biostatistics, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Kerry J Ressler
- Department of Psychiatry, McLean Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Belmont, MA, United States
| | - Henning Tiemeier
- Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, United States; Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Laura D Kubzansky
- Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, United States; Lee Kum Sheung Center for Health and Happiness, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, United States
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Gee DG. Early Adversity and Development: Parsing Heterogeneity and Identifying Pathways of Risk and Resilience. Am J Psychiatry 2021; 178:998-1013. [PMID: 34734741 DOI: 10.1176/appi.ajp.2021.21090944] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Adversity early in life is common and is a major risk factor for the onset of psychopathology. Delineating the neurodevelopmental pathways by which early adversity affects mental health is critical for early risk identification and targeted treatment approaches. A rapidly growing cross-species literature has facilitated advances in identifying the mechanisms linking adversity with psychopathology, specific dimensions of adversity and timing-related factors that differentially relate to outcomes, and protective factors that buffer against the effects of adversity. Yet, vast complexity and heterogeneity in early environments and neurodevelopmental trajectories contribute to the challenges of understanding risk and resilience in the context of early adversity. In this overview, the author highlights progress in four major areas-mechanisms, heterogeneity, developmental timing, and protective factors; synthesizes key challenges; and provides recommendations for future research that can facilitate progress in the field. Translation across species and ongoing refinement of conceptual models have strong potential to inform prevention and intervention strategies that can reduce the immense burden of psychopathology associated with early adversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dylan G Gee
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, Conn
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30
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Cohodes EM, Kribakaran S, Odriozola P, Bakirci S, McCauley S, Hodges HR, Sisk LM, Zacharek SJ, Gee DG. Migration-related trauma and mental health among migrant children emigrating from Mexico and Central America to the United States: Effects on developmental neurobiology and implications for policy. Dev Psychobiol 2021; 63:e22158. [PMID: 34292596 PMCID: PMC8410670 DOI: 10.1002/dev.22158] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2021] [Revised: 05/11/2021] [Accepted: 06/20/2021] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Children make up over half of the world's migrants and refugees and face a multitude of traumatic experiences prior to, during, and following migration. Here, we focus on migrant children emigrating from Mexico and Central America to the United States and review trauma related to migration, as well as its implications for the mental health of migrant and refugee children. We then draw upon the early adversity literature to highlight potential behavioral and neurobiological sequalae of migration-related trauma exposure, focusing on attachment, emotion regulation, and fear learning and extinction as transdiagnostic mechanisms underlying the development of internalizing and externalizing symptomatology following early-life adversity. This review underscores the need for interdisciplinary efforts to both mitigate the effects of trauma faced by migrant and refugee youth emigrating from Mexico and Central America and, of primary importance, to prevent child exposure to trauma in the context of migration. Thus, we conclude by outlining policy recommendations aimed at improving the mental health of migrant and refugee youth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily M Cohodes
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
| | - Sahana Kribakaran
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
| | - Paola Odriozola
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
| | - Sarah Bakirci
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
| | - Sarah McCauley
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
| | - H R Hodges
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
| | - Lucinda M Sisk
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
| | - Sadie J Zacharek
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
| | - Dylan G Gee
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
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Susman ES, Weissman DG, Sheridan MA, McLaughlin KA. High vagal tone and rapid extinction learning as potential transdiagnostic protective factors following childhood violence exposure. Dev Psychobiol 2021; 63:e22176. [PMID: 34423415 PMCID: PMC8410650 DOI: 10.1002/dev.22176] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2021] [Revised: 07/07/2021] [Accepted: 07/16/2021] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
Childhood exposure to violence is strongly associated with psychopathology. High resting respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) is associated with lower levels of psychopathology in children exposed to violence. High RSA may help to protect against psychopathology by facilitating fear extinction learning, allowing more flexible autonomic responses to learned threat and safety cues. In this study, 165 youth (79 female, aged 9-17; 86 exposed to violence) completed assessments of violence exposure, RSA, and psychopathology, and a fear extinction learning task; 134 participants returned and completed psychopathology assessments 2 years later. Resting RSA moderated the longitudinal association of violence exposure with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and externalizing psychopathology, such that the association was weaker among youths with higher RSA. Higher skin conductance responses (SCR) during extinction learning to the threat cue (CS+) was associated with higher internalizing symptoms at follow-up and greater SCR to the safety cue (CS-) was associated with higher PTSD, internalizing, and externalizing symptoms, as well as the p-factor, controlling for baseline symptoms. Findings suggest that higher RSA may protect against emergence of psychopathology among children exposed to violence. Moreover, difficulty extinguishing learned threat responses and elevated autonomic responses to safety cues may be associated with risk for future psychopathology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eli S. Susman
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
| | | | - Margaret A. Sheridan
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
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Bryce NV, Flournoy JC, Guassi Moreira JF, Rosen ML, Sambook KA, Mair P, McLaughlin KA. Brain parcellation selection: An overlooked decision point with meaningful effects on individual differences in resting-state functional connectivity. Neuroimage 2021; 243:118487. [PMID: 34419594 PMCID: PMC8629133 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.118487] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2021] [Revised: 08/16/2021] [Accepted: 08/18/2021] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Over the past decade extensive research has examined the segregation of the human brain into large-scale functional networks. The resulting network maps, i.e. parcellations, are now commonly used for the a priori identification of functional networks. However, the use of these parcellations, particularly in developmental and clinical samples, hinges on four fundamental assumptions: (1) the various parcellations are equally able to recover the networks of interest; (2) adult-derived parcellations well represent the networks in children’s brains; (3) network properties, such as within-network connectivity, are reliably measured across parcellations; and (4) parcellation selection does not impact the results with regard to individual differences in given network properties. In the present study we examined these assumptions using eight common parcellation schemes in two independent developmental samples. We found that the parcellations are equally able to capture networks of interest in both children and adults. However, networks bearing the same name across parcellations (e.g., default network) do not produce reliable within-network measures of functional connectivity. Critically, parcellation selection significantly impacted the magnitude of associations of functional connectivity with age, poverty, and cognitive ability, producing meaningful differences in interpretation of individual differences in functional connectivity based on parcellation choice. Our findings suggest that work employing parcellations may benefit from the use of multiple schemes to confirm the robustness and generalizability of results. Furthermore, researchers looking to gain insight into functional networks may benefit from employing more nuanced network identification approaches such as using densely-sampled data to produce individual-derived network parcellations. A transition towards precision neuroscience will provide new avenues in the characterization of functional brain organization across development and within clinical populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nessa V Bryce
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02139, United States.
| | - John C Flournoy
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02139, United States
| | - João F Guassi Moreira
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, United States
| | - Maya L Rosen
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02139, United States
| | - Kelly A Sambook
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02139, United States
| | - Patrick Mair
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02139, United States
| | - Katie A McLaughlin
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02139, United States
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Executive function as a mechanism linking socioeconomic status to internalizing and externalizing psychopathology in children and adolescents. J Adolesc 2021; 89:149-160. [PMID: 33971502 PMCID: PMC8203104 DOI: 10.1016/j.adolescence.2021.04.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2020] [Revised: 04/19/2021] [Accepted: 04/26/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION The association between low socioeconomic status (SES) in childhood and increased risk for psychopathology is well established, but the mechanisms explaining this relationship are poorly understood. Here, we investigate the potential role of difficulties in executive functioning (EF) as a mechanism linking childhood and adolescent SES with externalizing and internalizing psychopathology. METHODS We examined whether difficulties with EF mediated the association between SES and externalizing and internalizing psychopathology in two cross-sectional samples of children and adolescents (Study 1: N = 94, ages 6-18, 51.1% male; Study 2: N = 259, ages 8-16, 54.1% male) from diverse SES backgrounds in the United States. EF was measured through behavioral tasks and parent-reported behavioral regulation (BR). RESULTS In both samples, children and adolescents from lower SES families were more likely to experience both externalizing and internalizing psychopathology than youth from more advantaged backgrounds and exhibited greater EF difficulties - they had lower performance on a task measuring inhibitory control and lower parent-rated BR. Reduced inhibitory control and BR, in turn, were associated with higher externalizing and internalizing psychopathology. In Study 1, difficulties with BR mediated the association of low-SES with both externalizing and internalizing psychopathology. In Study 2, low inhibitory control mediated the association between low-SES and externalizing psychopathology. These findings largely persisted after adjusting for exposure to violence, a form of adversity that is common in children from low-SES backgrounds. CONCLUSIONS These findings suggest that reduced EF may be an underlying mechanism through which low-SES confers risk for psychopathology in children and adolescents.
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Impact of childhood maltreatment and resilience on behavioral and neural patterns of inhibitory control during emotional distraction. Dev Psychopathol 2021; 34:1260-1271. [PMID: 33827733 DOI: 10.1017/s0954579421000055] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
Exposure to childhood maltreatment (CM) may disrupt typical development of neural systems underlying impulse control and emotion regulation. Yet resilient outcomes are observed in some individuals exposed to CM. Individual differences in adult functioning may result from variation in inhibitory control in the context of emotional distractions, underpinned by cognitive-affective brain circuits. Thirty-eight healthy adults with a history of substantiated CM and 34 nonmaltreated adults from the same longitudinal sample performed a Go/No-Go task in which task-relevant stimuli (letters) were presented at the center of task-irrelevant, negative, or neutral images, while undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging. The comparison group, but not the maltreated group, made increased inhibitory control errors in the context of negative, but not neutral, distractor images. In addition, the comparison group had greater right inferior frontal gyrus and bilateral frontal pole activation during inhibitory control blocks with negative compared to neutral background images relative to the CM group. Across the full sample, greater adaptive functioning in everyday contexts was associated with superior inhibitory control and greater right frontal pole activation. Results suggest that resilience following early adversity is associated with enhanced attention and behavioral regulation in the context of task-irrelevant negative emotional stimuli in a laboratory setting.
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A Social Affective Neuroscience Model of Risk and Resilience in Adolescent Depression: Preliminary Evidence and Application to Sexual and Gender Minority Adolescents. BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY. COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE AND NEUROIMAGING 2021; 6:188-199. [PMID: 33097468 PMCID: PMC9912296 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2020.07.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2020] [Revised: 07/15/2020] [Accepted: 07/31/2020] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
Depression is a disorder of dysregulated affective and social functioning, with attenuated response to reward, heightened response to threat (perhaps especially social threat), excessive focus on negative aspects of the self, ineffective engagement with other people, and difficulty modulating all of these responses. Known risk factors provide a starting point for a model of developmental pathways to resilience, and we propose that the interplay of social threat experiences and neural social-affective systems is critical to those pathways. We describe a model of risk and resilience, review supporting evidence, and apply the model to sexual and gender minority adolescents, a population with high disparities in depression and unique social risk factors. This approach illustrates the fundamental role of a socially and developmentally informed clinical neuroscience model for understanding a population disproportionately affected by risk factors and psychopathology outcomes. We consider it a public health imperative to apply conceptual models to high-need populations to elucidate targets for effective interventions to promote healthy development and enhance resilience.
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Ford JD, Spinazzola J, van der Kolk B. Psychiatric comorbidity of developmental trauma disorder and posttraumatic Stress disorder: findings from the DTD field trial replication (DTDFT-R). Eur J Psychotraumatol 2021; 12:1929028. [PMID: 34249242 PMCID: PMC8245086 DOI: 10.1080/20008198.2021.1929028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Background: Developmental Trauma Disorder (DTD) has extensive comorbidity with internalizing and externalizing disorders distinct from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Objective: To replicate findings of DTD comorbidity and to determine whether this comorbidity is distinct from, and extends beyond, comorbidities of PTSD. Method: DTD was assessed by structured interview, and probable DSM-IV psychiatric disorders were identified with KSADS-PL screening modules, in a multi-site sample of 271 children (ages 8-18 years old; 47% female) in outpatient or residential mental health treatment for multiple (M = 3.5 [SD = 2.4]) psychiatric diagnoses other than PTSD or DTD. Results: DTD (N = 74, 27%) and PTSD (N = 107, 39%) were highly comorbid and shared several DSM-IV internalizing and externalizing disorder comorbidities. Children with DTD with or without PTSD had more comorbid diagnoses (M = 5.7 and 5.2 [SD = 2.4 and 1.7], respectively) than children with PTSD but not DTD (M = 3.8[SD = 2.1]) or neither PTSD nor DTD (M = 2.1[SD = 1.9]), F[3,267] = 55.49, p < .001. Further, on a multivariate basis controlling for demographics and including all potential comorbid disorders, DTD was associated with separation anxiety disorder, depression, and oppositional defiant disorder after controlling for PTSD, while PTSD was associated only with separation anxiety disorder after controlling for DTD. Both DTD and PTSD were associated with suicidality. Conclusions: DTD is associated with psychiatric comorbidity beyond that of PTSD, and DTD warrants assessment for treatment planning with children in intensive psychiatric services.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julian D Ford
- University of Connecticut School of Medicine, Farmington, CT, USA
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37
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Dark HE, Harnett NG, Goodman AM, Wheelock MD, Mrug S, Schuster MA, Elliott MN, Emery ST, Knight DC. Violence exposure, affective style, and stress-induced changes in resting state functional connectivity. COGNITIVE, AFFECTIVE & BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE 2020; 20:1261-1277. [PMID: 33000367 PMCID: PMC7718383 DOI: 10.3758/s13415-020-00833-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/13/2020] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
Chronic childhood stress is linked to greater susceptibility to internalizing disorders in adulthood. Specifically, chronic stress leads to changes in brain connectivity patterns, and, in turn, affects psychological functioning. Violence exposure, a chronic stressor, increases stress reactivity and disrupts emotion regulation processes. However, it is unclear to what extent violence exposure affects the neural circuitry underlying emotion regulation. Individual differences in affective style also moderate the impact of stress on psychological function and can thus alter the relationship between violence exposure and brain function. Resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) is an index of intrinsic brain activity. Stress-induced changes in rsFC between the amygdala, hippocampus, and prefrontal cortex (PFC) are associated with emotion dysregulation and may elucidate how affective style modulates the relationship between violence exposure and brain connectivity. Therefore, the present study examined the impact of violence exposure and affective style on stress-induced changes in rsFC. Participants (n = 233) completed two 6-minute resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging scans, one before (pre-stress) and one after (post-stress) a psychosocial stress task. The bilateral amygdala, hippocampus, and ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) were used as seed regions for rsFC analyses. Significant stress-induced changes in the prefrontal, fronto-limbic, and parieto-limbic rsFC were observed. Further, pre-stress to post-stress differences in rsFC varied with violence exposure and affective style. These findings suggest that prefrontal, fronto-limbic, and parieto-limbic connectivity is associated with the emotional response to stress and provide new insight into the neural mechanisms through which affective style moderates the impact violence exposure has on the brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heather E Dark
- Department of Psychology, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, CIRC 235H, 1720 2nd Ave S., Birmingham, AL, 35294, USA
| | - Nathaniel G Harnett
- Department of Psychology, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, CIRC 235H, 1720 2nd Ave S., Birmingham, AL, 35294, USA
| | - Adam M Goodman
- Department of Psychology, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, CIRC 235H, 1720 2nd Ave S., Birmingham, AL, 35294, USA
| | - Muriah D Wheelock
- Department of Psychology, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, CIRC 235H, 1720 2nd Ave S., Birmingham, AL, 35294, USA
| | - Sylvie Mrug
- Department of Psychology, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, CIRC 235H, 1720 2nd Ave S., Birmingham, AL, 35294, USA
| | - Mark A Schuster
- Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine, Pasadena, CA, USA
| | | | - Susan Tortolero Emery
- School of Public Health, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX, USA
| | - David C Knight
- Department of Psychology, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, CIRC 235H, 1720 2nd Ave S., Birmingham, AL, 35294, USA.
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Weissman DG, Nook EC, Dews AA, Miller AB, Lambert HK, Sasse SF, Somerville LH, McLaughlin KA. Low Emotional Awareness as a Transdiagnostic Mechanism Underlying Psychopathology in Adolescence. Clin Psychol Sci 2020; 8:971-988. [PMID: 33758688 PMCID: PMC7983841 DOI: 10.1177/2167702620923649] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
The ability to identify and label one's emotions is associated with effective emotion regulation, rendering emotional awareness important for mental health. We evaluated how emotional awareness was related to psychopathology and whether low emotional awareness was a transdiagnostic mechanism explaining the increase in psychopathology during the transition to adolescence and as a function of childhood trauma-specifically violence exposure. In Study 1, children and adolescents (N=120, aged 7-19 years) reported on emotional awareness and psychopathology. Emotional awareness was negatively associated with psychopathology (p-factor) and worsened across age in females but not males. In Study 2 (N=262, aged 8-16 years), we replicated these findings and demonstrated longitudinally that low emotional awareness mediated increases in p-factor as a function of age in females and violence exposure. These findings indicate that low emotional awareness may be a transdiagnostic mechanism linking adolescent development, sex, and trauma with the emergence of psychopathology.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Erik C Nook
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
| | | | - Adam Bryant Miller
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC
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McLaughlin KA, Weissman D, Bitrán D. Childhood Adversity and Neural Development: A Systematic Review. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2019; 1:277-312. [PMID: 32455344 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-devpsych-121318-084950] [Citation(s) in RCA: 336] [Impact Index Per Article: 67.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
An extensive literature on childhood adversity and neurodevelopment has emerged over the past decade. We evaluate two conceptual models of adversity and neurodevelopment-the dimensional model of adversity and stress acceleration model-in a systematic review of 109 studies using MRI-based measures of neural structure and function in children and adolescents. Consistent with the dimensional model, children exposed to threat had reduced amygdala, medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), and hippocampal volume and heightened amygdala activation to threat in a majority of studies; these patterns were not observed consistently in children exposed to deprivation. In contrast, reduced volume and altered function in frontoparietal regions were observed consistently in children exposed to deprivation but not children exposed to threat. Evidence for accelerated development in amygdala-mPFC circuits was limited but emerged in other metrics of neurodevelopment. Progress in charting neurodevelopmental consequences of adversity requires larger samples, longitudinal designs, and more precise assessments of adversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katie A McLaughlin
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA
| | - David Weissman
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA
| | - Debbie Bitrán
- Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15260, USA
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